Gareth Pearson appears with special guest fingerstyle guitarist R.D. King (visit rdkingmusic.com)

Gareth Pearson is referred to as “The Welsh Tornado” which is particularly appropriate, seeing as this special talent combines fingerstyle pyrotechnics, with explosive lead runs making Pearson one of the most exciting acoustic musicians gigging today.

Gareth has a distinctive style that can be heard through his creative and innovative arrangements which cover a wide spectrum of genres, including country/folk/classical/pop/rock/jazz/swing and bluegrass music, along with his own beautiful and often intricate original compositions.

Drawing his playing style initially from influences such as Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, Jerry Reed and Tommy Emmanuel, he has developed a style that is both inspiring and entertaining.

Within a year of taking up the guitar, Gareth was opening for Tommy Emmanuel on his 2005 UK tour. It was in Cardiff where Tommy invited Gareth to play at the CAAS convention (Chet Atkins Appreciation Society) in Nashville Tennessee.

Later that year, Gareth was performing and touring alongside Ray Davies (The Kinks), John Renbourne, and Southside Johnny and the Ashbury Jukes. During the Southside Johnny tour, Gareth was invited by Southside to be flown over to the USA to open for his annual New Years Eve concert at the Count Basie Theatre in New Jersey.

The following year Gareth was invited by Tommy Emmanuel to be the support act for his UK tour, following extensive UK supports to Jan Akkerman, Andy McKee and appearing at numerous Folk Festivals and Guitar workshops including the Montreal Jazz Festival.

R.D. King is an award-winning composer and performer of instrumental acoustic guitar music. Captivating and energetic, he blends traditional fingerstyle techniques with guitar pyrotechnics to create cinematic and evocative music. King has placed in numerous competitions for songwriting and performance, including as the winner of the 2017 Canadian Guitar Festival’s International Fingerstyle Guitar Competition and as a finalist for the 2023 International Acoustic Music Awards (Instrumental Category).

Visit: garethpearson.com

Visit: rdkingmusic.com